The Lego Movie is Awesome

Hey guys, I enjoyed The Lego Movie this past weekend for plenty of reasons. I hope you found many as well.

Because I work at Legoland California, I was familiar with the sets and movie characters before knowing the story. I had wondered if the movie would feel weird from my familiarity with Lego pieces and working in a Lego gift shop. This question would apply even more to Lego fans though. Instead of feeling weird, I laughed even more from recognizing Lego pieces, their multiple uses, and their limitations. If you are a Mystery Minifigures collector, then you will enjoy appearances from different series.

If you have a chance to visit Legoland California, then check out the special exhibit called The Lego Movie Experience with Lego model scenes from the movie including the dad's workspace. The opening was Feb. 20, but the exhibit is available for a year. The location is next to Studio Store on the left side of the park.

The Lego Movie Experience at Legoland California

The Lego Movie had some humor similar to Muppet humor. It is not so much the literal vs. figurative meaning of words. I have not been able to label it yet. I do not want to list examples of this humor either so you can enjoy the moment. I also cracked-up over the sound effects and use of Lego pieces for special effects such as explosions.

An explosion example of a special effect with Lego pieces.

Those of you who have read my other blog posts know I love Meta and dystopias. Well, The Lego Movie has both aspects! :D

Two of my favorite characters are Metalbeard and Benny the 80s spaceman. Since I saw the Lego set Metalbeard's Duel, I thought Metalbeard looked cool with his many unique pieces. My friends and coworkers know very well that I like puns and cheesy corny jokes. Yesterday at work, I kept pointing out the chest pun in Metalbeard. He is great to watch and hear on the screen.

Metalbeard

I wish this "Spaceship!" tee had Benny's whole body.

My family knows I am drawn to funny-voiced characters such as King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Shrek the Final Chapter. This fact is one reason why spaceman Benny is a favorite character of mine. Thanks voice actor Charlie Day! ;)

The main reason I like Benny has to do with his attempts to build a spaceship. I will keep an eye out for a good shirt with Benny. By the way, he is based off of the Lego figure Blue Classic Spaceman.
Rumpelstiltskin in

There are more things I enjoyed and laughed over, but one last aspect I'll say is that the story's messages are awesome. :) I recommend watching it. If you have already, who was your favorite character?

Critters and Lego Figures

Another Lego joy I had to share. RedBubble artist Powerpig has a fun Lego calendar called "Backyard Adventures" for $26. Each month holds a captured moment of a squirrel collecting peanuts in the middle of a Lego scene. I don't know how the photos were managed, but are some of my favorites:

The artist has more Lego calendars available for $23 such as this one:

"Never a Dull Moment II"

Lego TMNT

TMNT Lego figures are coming out in January! Here is a video with a sneak peek of the Lego sets and details on designing them.

Part 1: The figures

Part 2: The environments

(I laughed at the exploding wall)

Like any other fan, I want to get at least the turtle and Shredder figures. I enjoyed hearing about the design process. What do you think?

Free Shipping

In the last post, I shared an art piece on RedBubble and Society6. Well, both sites have free shipping for a few days.

RedBubble

Free shipping until Sat Dec. 8 6:00am.

I have only "Night's Kiss" on RedBubble so far, but I wanted to share a clever tee (on the right) I found for Buzz Lightyear fans. ;) 

My tee again, "Night's Kiss."

The title gives it away, but here's the link.

Society6

As for Society6, purchases will have free shipping if you click on the artist's promo link for it. Here is my free shipping promo link: http://society6.com/Inque?promo=1cee54 . Free shipping on this site is until Dec. 9.

And here are two other artist's works and promo links:

Artist Terry Fan

http://society6.com/igo2cairo?promo=e4d86a

"Autumn Song"

"Your brain on video games"

Artist Martynas Pavilonis

http://society6.com/MartynasPavilonis?promo=d2c1ef

"Martwood Wolves" as a phone skin.

"Village"

Cowabunga!

Along with Halloween, October is National Pizza Month.  So how about looking at some big fans of pizza, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

"Vote Pizza Party" classic 80s tee for $20

Hello, Raphael.

Nickelodeon promoted the more recent series with this chalk illusion in London. I am sure that everyone wishes the drawing was a permanent mural.

"Ancient Ninja Xenomorphs"

More and more TMNT printed tees are coming out probably because of Micheal Bay's TMNT film reboot.

However, On the UK website The Guardian, I read that the 2013 film pushed back to 2014 because of the fans' voiced disapproval of the mutant turtles portrayed as aliens. The Guardian believes the production may be dropped altogether.

An artist, Billy Allison, did a great depiction of the ninjas like Ridley Scott's Alien.  I linked the tee's title to prints and device covers, but he has the design available as a tee too.




Here's two tees that take after the turtles' names: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.

"Renaissance Ninjas" tee for $22.50

"Heroes in an Art Shell" tee currently sold out.

"Ninja Rhapsody" print for $15

Did you know that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a comic before a TV show? How about that all four wore red?

Artist Hillary White knew. Her design on the right is no longer available at RiptApparel, but you can still get a $15 print. It is a mash-up of one of Queen's album covers.

Even when dressed the same, Raphael stands out.

Original TV show in the 80s

There are more TMNT tees, but don't forget to celebrate National Pizza Month.

I have always wondered if banana toppings tasted good.  Do you remember what other toppings these turtles tried?

I did not find a tee or print of this one,
but it is still worth sharing.

2 Hunger Game Shirts And More

Have you seen The Hunger Games movie? I may do so this weekend. I'll wear my mockingjay pin from SD Comic Con. =)

Meanwhile, I saw these two The Hunger Games shirts among others. Click on shirt titles for links:

"Hunger-lympics" for $25.56 at  redbubble

I think "Hunger-lympics" is my favorite shirt for the book. Some of the actor/character shirts at Hot Topic are cool (I'd get Haymitch or Rue), but I like more than a face. This shirt shows some of the plot without spoiling the story. The Wasp Relay makes me laugh. I am excited to see that part in the movie.

I also like that the artist, WinterArtwork, came up with his own rendition of the mockingjay.

If I hadn't already bought a shirt that week, then I would gotten "Hunger-lympics." My sister bought it though, which is appropriate because she is the bigger The Hunger Games fan. The third book is her favorite.

"Paintballers" for $25.56 at  redbubble

WinterArtwork came up with this Community shirt on the left as well. It parodies the best season finales as the Ghostbusters. The artist wrote, "When there's something strange in your community college...who ya gonna Chang?"

This shirt is on my list to get next. =)

"Hungry Hungry Games" for $15 at shirt.woot!
(free standard shipping)

On  shirt.woot!,  the shirt on the right, "Hungry Hungry Games," has been one of the top 20 tees for a week so far. The Hunger Games is parodied as the children's game Hungry Hungry Hippo. No spoilers in the design. Just a laugh.

 Shirt.woot! is a new shirt site for me. Everyday a new shirt is released like TeeFury, but shirt.woot! keeps the shirt as long it sells.






Here are four more top 20 tees from shirt.woot! with more meaning behind the images:

"Family Portrait"

This shirt is a clever and funny depiction of the sad truth. That is Pluto off to the side.

Today the shirt is #19.

"Curiosity"

Those cat outlines spell out Curiosity. I thought the shirt was cute until I saw the numbered signs for dead bodies. :o Despite the shirt being morbid, I can't help still appreciating the artist's work like other people. The shirt is #9.

Speaking of 9, did you notice that there are nine cat outlines? That was one very curious cat.

"Wet | | Slippery When"

Here's a shirt for gamers! The odd title actually follows a mathematical formula, which makes the shirt more geeky.

This shirt is currently #6.

"Read"

The last shirt I'm sharing is at #3. I like that the depicted tales are diverse in genre, audience age, and time of publication.

Threadless for $9.99

Threadless is the first shirt site I found thanks to a friend. I've been buying from TeeFury lately though.

Right now, Threadless has awesome shirts for $9.99 until 3/21 10:00am CT. I recommend checking them out.

Here's the shirt I bought:

"Poker Face"

For that design, the regular tee shape is sold out for girls. Just the "boat neck tee" is left. Click on the titled caption for that shirt. I prefer not to get white shirts, but I could not resist with the use of cards and the pun.

Here are a few more designs that I liked:

"Love the Bomb"
Have you dodged these guys on the Wii?

"Mr. Tee" with the use of tees.
I pity the foo' who doesn't laugh.

"Lion Fumes" reminds me of Aslan from
The Chronicles of Narnia.

"Geek Chic" by my favorite shirt artist, Megan Lara.

There are shirt categories other than Pop Culture and Gaming.

Gamer's Valentine

Here's a Valentine I thought was cute and worth sharing:

The first two lines refer to iconic game characters.

Troy & Abed Shirt

I have a lot to blog about including Johnny Cupcakes! But for this post, I'm going to return to Megan Lara who has done Art Nouveau style T-shirts.

"Dope Adventures" T-shirt

Today on TeeFury.com, Megan Lara has a T-shirt of Troy and Abed from Community in the styled of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes."
At first I was a little disappointed that they don't look much like Troy and Abed. But then I thought about their relationship. Troy is the boyish innocent one while Abed is the rational one. So Megan Lara matched up the personalities well.

And then I looked at the details. If you know Troy and Abed, then you will appreciate the comic title "Kick-Puncher." =) They have also like blanket forts, and they now room in one in at the end of season 3. The little mug says "Special drink,"  which I think refers to Abed's chocolate milk recipe. So Megan Lara has succeeded in putting Troy and Abed elements in the "Calvin and Hobbes" setting.

You can get the shirt HERE for $10, but only for 8.5 more hours of today. The web page has a countdown for the duration of the shirt sale. Afterwards the shirt will no longer be sold at TeeFury. You will have to find the shirt on another website, which will sell the shirt for at least $20.

Here's a picture of "Calvin and Hobbes" for those of you who need an introduction to them:

Calvin and Hobbes

You can read the comic strips in book volumes now. Some adventures, including the great ones, last more than one strip. The names were chosen from philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes the tiger is actually a stuffed animal that Calvin imagines as a real tiger and his best friend.

There's no fooling myself now that I'm nostalgic and sentimental. I will get the shirt!

Geeky in the Shower

I found an item that I must share with you gamers. ;)

That's made of SOAP!

Under the section "Geekry" on Etsy.com, I found a shop called Digital Soaps, which sells game cartridges and controllers in the form of soap.

Yes, soap.

There are items from the games as well including the Portal cube:

Have some laughs and nostalgic moments at the games selected for the shower. One funny line in the descriptions is "Lather up, level up."

However, I must inform you that the scents are sodas such as Mountain Dew. That factor will stop some of you from actually washing with the soap. If you are just collecting the soaps, then I suggest a case for them to at least to block the fragrance from ants. A case will keep the soap in good condition anyway.

The First Shirt Artist I Follow

I am now following artist Megan Lara because of her Art Nouveau shirts.

The Labryrinth shirt mentioned in my last blog lead me to TeeFury. Then an email showcased pop culture characters like Harry Potter. I had liked the outline used, but the sneak peek at Megan Lara's other works drew me in because they had more Art Nouveau aspects. Here's a poster of 3 Nintendo heroines:

Art Nouveau is one my favorite art styles and Lara's use of it is breath-taking. I just started adding more layers of color and sections when influenced by Art Nouveau. Lara also has the intricate designs, double outlines, and a foreground that pops out!

Recently, I decided to check out other era styles like Baroque or Rococo. But after seeing Lara's work, I want to still be influenced by Art Nouveau at this time. With all those features, Lara's composition still holds together. Maybe the glue is in color theory.

Thank you, TeeFury for showcasing her work. And thank you, Megan Lara for listing your Facebook and website. :) I am geeking out.

SD Comic Con

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted for a while. This summer has been busy (such as working at Legoland), but great.  I want to share some photos and panel news from the San Diego Comic Con this past July.

I love how even the attendees are a part of the experience. In the photo below, I stand next to a cosplayer from The Green Hornet (2011):

Me with a Kato (Green Hornet) cosplayer!

Cosplaying is dressing up as a fictional character. I have cosplayed before, but now I just dress-up somehow. On the second day, I wore my Super Maio Bro's mushroom hat along with a blue vest and blue pinstripe pants. Next year I'll wear my new Luigi hat. ;)

More cosplayers:

Kiki and Tombo from Kiki's Delivery Service

Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon

On the right: Frank the 6-foot bunny in Donnie Darko

Planet of the Apes

Angry Birds the game

Katniss from The Hunger Games

I appreciate the cosplayers who depict small details. The Katniss cosplayer is not only carrying her bow, but also the bright, orange pack used in the game!

Speaking of The Hunger Games, I stopped by their booth and got THE golden mockingjay pin as a freebie!

Movie posters as big as a door were also handed out.

Some Panel News

There were at least two panels that discussed fandom and cosplayers. I had hoped to attend one of the panels but I volunteered and had other panels as a higher priority. I also did not have a chance to stop by David Malki's booth to say I submitted to the Machine of Death anthology. Accepted entries are announced in October.

Anyway, here are some lines from the two panel descriptions:

Comics Arts Conference Session #1: Fan Studies

Scott Daniel Boras (Arizona State University) relates his experiences as "Ethnography Man," researching the world of cosplay at Comic-Con and investigating how cosplay both subverts and reinforces codes of conduct, and in the end is more about transcendence than escape. Beverly Taylor (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) presents her research into how the culture of physique athletes -- body builders, figure, and fitness athletes -- is influenced and inspired by superheroes, even to the point of considering their lives outside the gym to be their secret identities. ...

Obsession: How TV and Movies Go from Fascination to Phenomenon

 ...what does it take to turn a series or movie into something special that we can't live without? This panel from BuddyTV.com examines that topic from all points of view: the writers and producers who create the projects, the actors who star in them, and the fans who consume them. ...

Hopefully, the discussions can be found online or in print.

The IDW panel mentioned its program "Sparkles for Blood." You can trade a Twilight book for their comic "30 Days of Night" to learn what a real vampire is.

 The IDW staff even gave away traded Twilight hardback novels which can be traded back for the vampire comic.

Last bit of news I'm sharing is that even Football players co-write comics.

Lance Briggs at Top Cow panel

Lance Briggs joined the panel of comic-distributor Top Cow to discuss his comic idea, Seraph, which combines his Christian faith with his passion for comics. The comic is about of a man who committed suicide, and then he is given a second chance as a warrior for Heaven. He must follow God's guidelines in his battles.

Lance Briggs' comic pilot Seraph

Lance Briggs is a co-writer of the story and competing with other new comics in Top Cow's Pilot Season. More may  be stated Brigg's social network of comics at Lance's Comic World.

And Legos!

Because I'm working the summer season at Legoland, I had to check out the booth for Lego. I saw smiling, engaged children like I do at work plus Scrappy!

Scrappy cosplayer crawls over legos to his father dressed as Scooby-doo.

 Iconic figures made from legos were found in the whole exhibit hall.

Batman made from legos

Well, I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my visit at SD Comic Con. If you are interested in going, then I have to warn you that this past year, tickets sold out on the first day of registration. So start checking for the day of registration in Feburary at www.Comic-Con.org. There you can also find out about a few other comic cons such as APE and Wonder Con.